Willard Brown vs Paul Waner: Career Stats Comparison

Willard Brown (1947–1949) and Paul Waner (1926–1945) — they broke in during the 1940s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Willard Brown finished with 643 hits and 63 home runs; Paul Waner finished with 3,152 hits and 113 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Willard Brown

Hitter · 1947–1949
Games
473
Hits
643
Home Runs
63
RBI
432
Avg
.354
OPS
.985
View Willard Brown's full profile →

Paul Waner

Hitter · 1926–1945
Games
2,549
Hits
3,152
Home Runs
113
RBI
1,309
Avg
.333
OPS
.878
View Paul Waner's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Willard Brown and Paul Waner. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Willard Brown Paul Waner
Games 473 2,549
At-Bats 1,818 9,459
Runs 368 1,627
Hits 643 3,152
Doubles 139 605
Triples 46 191
Home Runs 63 113
RBI 432 1,309
Walks 137 1,091
Strikeouts 16 376
Stolen Bases 95 104
Batting Avg .354 .333
On-Base % .400 .404
Slugging % .585 .473
OPS .985 .878

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Paul Waner outpaces Willard Brown 40,296 to 11,037 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,832 vs 788 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Willard Brown
11,037
Career PIV · 788 per season (14 seasons)
Paul Waner
40,296
Career PIV · 1,832 per season (22 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Willard Brown — top 0 seasons by OPS

Paul Waner — top 3 seasons by OPS

1928.992 OPS6 HR, 86 RBI, .370 avg
1927.986 OPS9 HR, 131 RBI, .380 avg
1934.968 OPS14 HR, 90 RBI, .362 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Paul Waner leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Willard Brown owns batting average and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Paul Waner. PIV agrees: Paul Waner grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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